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"What could be the cause in my GGT levels?"

Question

I recently had a routine physical at my work place. My blood work for AST, ALT, and GGT have increased in the past 3 years. I’m 41 years old and occasional drinker. What could cause this spike in my numbers
2010 2013
Glucose Serum 98 100
AST 21 41
ALT 28 95
GGT 50 203

Answer

I would suggest that you schedule an appointment with a gastroenterologist for further workup. It sounds like you have some type of hepatitis. Hepatitis is a general term that means inflammation of the liver. There are many different types of hepatitis. You could have a viral hepatitis such as hepatitis A, B, or C. I doubt this is hepatitis A as that is a more transient disease and goes away like the flu. Hepatitis B and C are possible, but tend to cause more elevation of AST and ALT rather than GGT. I should also mention here that GGT is not really used most of the time when assessing liver disease. We use alkaline phosphatase first, and if this is abnormal and there is a reason for it to be abnormal (such as a gall bladder stone), then we never check GGT. We only check it when we think that the alkaline phosphatase elevation is not real.
Again, I would suggest that you schedule an appointment with a gastroenterologist for further workup. You should first have testing for viral hepatitis, but should also have testing autoimmune diseases that attack the liver. I don't think that your hepatitis is due to alcohol because the pattern of ALT and AST do not match those of alcoholic hepatitis but any consumption of alcohol might exacerbate a condition.

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Zocdoc Answers is for general informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor (in the United States) 911 immediately. Always seek the advice of your doctor before starting or changing treatment. Medical professionals who provide responses to health-related questions are intended third party beneficiaries with certain rights under Zocdoc’s Terms of Service.